"There are still more tests to be taken on strength and form."

That's the mainstream view of the defending champions among industry professionals after the San Francisco 49ers' loss to the New Orleans Saints.

As the defending champion and the creator of the perfect season, the San Francisco 49ers are still relatively intact with a roster that has been positively affirmed by industry analysts and commentators, and is also one of the favorites this year. Now it is natural that a loss will not change course and think that "this is a weak team", or "there is little hope of defending the title".

However, it is undeniable that among the San Francisco 49ers' previous five consecutive wins, only the Carolina Panthers are a team that has been in relatively good form this season, and the gold content of the other four wins is still limited. And even the Carolina Panthers, the form of this season is very up and down, sometimes good and sometimes bad, difficult to accurately measure, and the difficulty of the test is debatable.

It is precisely because of this that the state and strength of the San Francisco 49ers this season cannot be accurately measured, and the only thing that can be determined is that the overall state of the team after Lu Ke's return does show an upward curve, and the quality of the game is returning, as for the final upper limit of this curve, it needs to be tested by one game.

Now, the San Francisco 49ers have lost to the New Orleans Saints, and after the Seattle Seahawks, they have lost both of their head-to-head meetings with the truly top teams this season.

Judging from these two games, in addition to the difference between the starting quarterbacks, it is indeed obvious that the defending champions have experienced ups and downs in their competitive form, the intensity of both the offensive and defensive ends has declined, the bench depth is not enough, the main players are fluctuating, and they are now facing a lot of problems, and the negative impact of injuries has further amplified those shortcomings and holes.

After reaching the top with a perfect season, the San Francisco 49ers have become the object of repeated study by the other 31 teams in the league, every tactic, every substitution, and every change of formation may become the focus of discussion in the tactical meeting, and they need to face exponential pressure and challenges, which is the problem that every defending champion must face, and the San Francisco 49ers, who created an impossible miracle, indirectly increased the difficulty of their game.

If the San Francisco 49ers are still looking to make the playoffs this season, and even further, they must pick themselves up now and find a solution to their problems. It's not an easy task, but competitive sports are like that, like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat.

The defeat to the Carolina Panthers and the loss to the New Orleans Saints also led the mainstream opinion to say, "The strength and form of the defending champions are indeed picking up, but there are still many uncertainties, and in the next games, every game is a test, depending on whether the defending champions swim against the current or fall into the league." ”

The San Francisco 49ers need to get back on track quickly: in the twelfth week of the regular season, they are about to travel to Washington, D.C., and for the second week in a row, they will take on the Washington Redskins!

High hopes were placed on this game during the offseason.

The head-to-head matchup between Lu Ke and Robert Griffin III is full of countless highlights: not just the "pocket quarterback vs. running quarterback" matchup, no one will forget that Lu Ke's first career loss came from the Philadelphia Eagles' running quarterback Michael Vic, and since then, Lu Ke has remained undefeated against the running quarterback.

Moreover, it is also the head-to-head confrontation between the first and second all-time rookie quarterback ratings, Lu Ke was born in the 2011 season, and Griffin swept the thousands of troops in the 2012 season.

Now, Lu Ke is in the third grade, Griffin is in the second grade, the two quarterbacks have grown in their own way, and Lu Ke has made it to the Super Bowl in the second grade, so what will happen to Griffin? And what will happen to the showdown between them?

Many people in the industry are looking forward to this game, when the schedule is arranged, the league directly arranged this game in the Monday night schedule of the twelfth week of the regular season, which is also the second of the three night games of the San Francisco 49ers this season, and you can see the league's expectations and attention from the side.

On top of that, it's a showdown full of history. It's not the history of rivals in the same district, but the deep record of a glorious history and a long-standing fan base – both of which are clearly among the most popular in the league.

Founded in 1932, the Washington Redskins are one of the oldest powerhouses in the history of the league, and after five seasons in Boston, the team moved to Washington, D.C., and changed its name from the Warriors to the Redskins - the name was originally given as a tribute to the Indians, and then as time progressed and the times progressed, the name itself began to lose its original flavor and inevitably caused a lot of controversy, but the team still insisted on using the name.

In the pre-Super Bowl era, the Washington Redskins were a well-known powerhouse in the league, winning the National Football League championship twice in 1937 and 1942. After that, the team experienced one of the darkest and lowest years in history, from 1945 to 1971, after failing to make the playoffs for 26 years, and the league changed dramatically, officially entering the Super Bowl era.

During the Super Bowl era, the Washington Redskins, led by two legendary coaches, George Allen and Joe-Gibbs, established their dynasty in the 70s and 80s, respectively, and established the dominance of the league's traditional powerhouse, winning the National League four times to reach the Super Bowl finals, and finally reaching the top twice in 1982 and 1987.

In 1991, the Redskins defeated Buffalo Bills, who dominated the league defensively, to win the third Super Bowl trophy in franchise history, and head coach Gibbs truly established his unrivaled prestige in Washington.

But after that, the boom must fall, just like the law of the growth of all things, the Washington Redskins entered the second dark years in the team's history, starting in 1993, missing the playoffs for seven consecutive years, until 1999, when the team changed owners, only to stop the decline and return to the playoffs.

This is the long history of the Washington Redskins in the last century, and the team based in the nation's capital has always been a force to be reckoned with in the football city. Although the last Super Bowl victory was in 1991, the Redskins, with their rich history and unique market, have always comfortably made it into the top eight in the annual NFL list of the most valuable teams in the market, proving once again that fan loyalty has never changed, whether it has risen or fallen.

After the turn of the millennium, the Washington Redskins entered a long period of reconstruction.

During this period, although the team returned to the playoffs in 2005 and 2007 as second in the division, it was more of a flash of inspiration, and most of the time it was still in a state of ups and downs - not that the team did not have the strength, but that they did not have the ability to continue the strength throughout the season, and when it came to the hand, they seemed to be able to beat any opponent; Suddenly there was a convulsion, and it seemed that they could also lose to any opponent.

How can it be accurately described?

To illustrate, the Washington Redskins have never won a division title in the eleven seasons since the turn of the millennium, and only made the playoffs in 2005 and 2007; But at the same time, the Washington Redskins have never been reduced to the position of deputy squad leader, and they have never even got the opportunity to be in the top three of the draft.

Not up or down, not able to burst into real competitiveness, and not completely rotten and rebuilt, the Washington Redskins have become a dispensable presence in the league.

Say they don't have the strength? They could beat the Green Bay Packers, who eventually won the Super Bowl that year, in the regular season of the 2010 season; Say they have the strength? They can also lose back-to-back games to the bottom of the league in the same season, the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions.

It's really incomprehensible.

It wasn't until last season that the Washington Redskins finally learned the hard way and made up their minds to clean up the team and reshuffle the team, selecting Robert Griffin III in the draft at a high price, hoping to find his team-building quarterback for the next decade and start anew.

It turns out that the gamble of the uniform group, won.

Griffin came out on top and showed a dominant 2012 season, leading the team to the division championship for the first time in 13 years and into the playoffs.

Despite Griffin's injury at the end of the season and a disappointing loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Game, the Washington Redskins, who have been adjusted and improved in the offseason, are still favored to dominate the National League East in 2013 – after all, the thriving and vibrant Washington Redskins do look more impactful than their other three divisional rivals.

Both teams are traditional powerhouses, both teams have found their favorite cornerstone quarterbacks, both teams have shown incredible talent and ability on the offensive end, both teams have returned to winning ways after a long slump, and everything is full of similarities; In addition, in 2011, Lu Ke almost entered the Washington Redskins, and such a relationship makes the story between the two teams full of fun.

Naturally, the matchup between the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers is considered one of the most anticipated games of the season.

However, after the start of the new season, both teams performed below expectations, killing all the experts by surprise, making this matchup full of uncertainties, and things seemed to be far off track.